Midnight Madness
by The Big Rocky Eye
Summary: For Twilight Rose2's contest. The Gaang gets stuck in a mall after closing. Zuko thinks something weird's going on; the others think he's a little paranoid. But maybe he's right, after all... Assassins, a flautist who wanted first and MORE!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER. I am not King Jeongjo of Joseon, nor am I Bedřich Smetana. Come to think of it, neither am I Sejong the Great, Edward Longshanks, Qianlong, Hammurabi, Beethoven, Liszt, Handel, Cimarosa, Mozart, Voltaire, Tenzin Gyatso, Aang, Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Timmy Turner, Toph Beifong, American or a light bulb. I am a poor student who does not own anything. Do not ask if I claim to own anything, because I don't.

NOTE. For my own convenience, Toph will not be totally blind in this fic. However, she will be pretty close to legal blindness.

* * *

Midnight Madness

_for Twilight Rose2's contest_

Chapter 1: The Infinitely Stupid Way in which the Gaang gets stuck in the Mall

On the bus home from his part-time job, Aang opened a discarded newspaper to a random page. It was 6 PM on a Wednesday night, but he wasn't tired; his job handing out incense and pamphlets at the local Buddhist temple was not taxing. His eyes landed on a full page ad on page 14, and promptly grew wide. As soon as he arrived at the bus stop, he leapt off the bus and sprinted through the side streets to his house. He let himself in quickly, ran to the phone and called Katara.

"Hello," the girl said after two rings.

"Hey, it's me, Aang," he spoke quickly. "Do you want to go to Cloverdale Mall with me? They've finally opened that Allegri's there, and I want to go! I know it's late, but will you—"

"Woah, slow down, Aang. You want me to go to the mall with you? Now?"

"Yeah!" Aang held the cordless phone to his ear as he shut the front door and put away his backpack.

"They've finally opened the new Allegri's, huh? You must be excited. Alright, I'll come. Should I ask Sokka to come, too?"

"Would he?"

"Wait, let me ask him..." Katara covered the mouthpiece and called to her brother, but his voice was heard on the phone immediately.

"Sure, I'll come, buddy. I'll even drive." He had been listening in on an extension.

"Yay! Thanks, Sokka!" Aang replied.

"We'll meet you at your house as soon as we're ready. Why don't you call Zuko and Toph and see if they can come?" Katara said.

"Good idea! I'll call them now."

As it turned out, both of them were available to go to the mall. After Sokka picked Aang up, he drove around to their houses as well. After a relatively uneventful drive (three detours, a stay in the highway known locally as "the world's longest parking lot", two incidents of bird-pooping and four fights over parking spaces) they arrived at Cloverdale Mall.

"Come on, let's go!" Aang shouted, dragging Katara and Sokka by the wrists.

"Slow down!" Toph exclaimed. "You know I can't see well!"

"Yeah, slow down!" Zuko agreed, running after them.

"The mall closes in one and a half hours, and there's so much I want to see!" Aang shouted.

"It's just a new music store, man! Calm down and let go of me," Sokka admonished. Aang complied, but still kept up a brisk walking pace.

"Speaking of music, how'd your flute competition go?" Katara asked.

"I got...first place," Aang replied with the hint of a smirk.

"Very nice, Aang!"

"Good job," Sokka said with a slap on the back.

"Congratulations," Zuko said.

"That's our flautist!" Toph shouted, punching the boy.

They entered the mall and found the new music store without delay. It was crowded, but Aang looked through it with joy. Zuko and Toph were less interested, however, and decided to browse other shops while he was there. Katara stayed behind with Aang, but Sokka eventually followed the two. When he found them, they were browsing at the Sears store. After Aang was done, he and Katara joined them there, too.

"Look at this book I got!" Aang said with a smile. "Chaminade's Flute Concertino! I've always wanted to play it!" He displayed his new book.

"That's very nice, Aang," Zuko replied dismissively. "Now, what do you think of this—Wait. Did you see what I just saw?"

"No," Toph said flatly. "You know how close I am to being legally blind."

"Obviously not you, Toph. What did you see, Zuko?" asked Katara.

"A...masked man," Zuko said. "Sort of ran past me. I wonder why someone would be wearing a mask like that—it's nowhere near Hallowe'en."

"Nyeh," Sokka said with a shrug. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Forget it, then. Do you think this tie looks good on me?"

"I don't know..." Katara said. "How about this one? It suits you well." He held up a flaming red tie.

"It's so _red_..."

"Exactly!"

"And what do you mean by that?"

Toph laughed. "I'm _sure_ she isn't talking about your fiery character!"

"What?"

"Come on, let's go," Aang suggested. "I want to go to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream." Everyone agreed.

Katara and Sokka were ahead of the others, and left the department store first. As Zuko tried to leave the store, however, the alarm started beeping.

"Empty your pockets, sir," a security guard demanded.

"Wh—what?" Zuko stammered.

"Empty your pockets."

Zuko complied. Along with his wallet, a little bottle of perfume was found. The security guard held it up.

"You were trying to steal this, weren't you?"

"I—I—How'd that get there?"

"Don't play dumb, you shoplifter. Come with us."

"What?"

"Zuko would never steal stuff like that!" Aang shouted.

"Besides, why would he need to? He could buy a thousand bottles of that stuff with the money he has!" Katara added.

"That's a lie," the guard retorted. "Look at the guy. He's obviously a thief. If you come peacefully, boy, maybe the police will go easy on you. Come on!"

Zuko was about to follow the man when someone started shouting, "FIRE!" Immediately the whole place was in a panic. As the guard looked around in confusion, Sokka grabbed Zuko by the arm and ran. The others eventually noticed and followed suit. The security guards started chasing them, but approximately halfway through the huge mall they lost sight of their prey. Seeing that this was so, Sokka dragged Zuko into a washroom with Katara, Toph and Aang following.

"Why are we in the girl's washroom?" Zuko demanded.

"Shut up and do what I say," Sokka whispered to the group. "Go in the stalls and stand on the toilets. Make sure no one sees you." They did so.

Meanwhile, the security guards gave up the chase. Ultimately they recovered their merchandise, so they weren't too concerned. By this time, the mall was about to close. The light jazz that had been playing was interrupted by an announcement that the mall was to close in ten minutes. A security guard went into the washrooms to make sure no one was in them; but as he reached the door of the washroom where the kids were hiding, someone knocked him out. All the guard could see before he fainted was...a masked man.

* * *

"Do you think we can come out now?" Zuko whispered.

"Yeah," Sokka replied. "Come on, guys, I think the mall's closed. Let's go."

They came into an empty hallway. All the stores were closed; there were no security guards in sight. They had been hiding for so long that everyone had left.

"Okay, the mall's definitely closed. There's no one here," Katara said.

"OH NO! WE'RE LOCKED IN!!" Sokka cried, falling to his knees.

Katara punched him. "Don't be stupid. Even if the doors are locked, they're designed so you can open them from the inside. We're not locked in."

They had been walking down the hall, but suddenly they were confronted with something quite unexpected. A huge partition of iron bars stretched across the hall, blocking access to the exit beyond.

"Don't worry," Katara said, "I'm sure there's another way out. Let's keep going."

Toph and Zuko were the ones to become frustrated when they came across a second partition. By the third, Sokka was getting desperate; by the fourth, Aang was starting to panic; by the fifth, Katara lost it.

"NOOO! WE'VE REALLY BEEN LOCKED IN!!" she cried, running all over the place.

None of the others cared as they themselves were running all over the place, but one by one they returned to their senses. After a total of about ten minutes of screaming and running and kicking and shouting and (thirteen thousand two hundred thirty-two and a half verbs later) and galumphing and jabberwocking, they settled down around the central fountain (which was off, incidentally) to discuss their situation. It was within their knowledge that some malls employed partitions such as the ones they'd seen to prevent any thieves entering at night from having full run of the place. They came to the conclusion, then, that they were unfortunately stuck in a section of the mall that didn't lead to an exit.

For the benefit of the reader, we shall make a short digression concerning the nature of the section of the mall they were stuck in. It would be described as the main part of the mall by most visitors, being approximately at the physical center of the establishment. A glass-roofed atrium makes up the greater part of this section; each hall leading from it leads to a partition. In the centre of the atrium is a large fountain; when running, it spouts three great jets of water every half hour in addition to the normal jets of water. The first two jets reach up to the second and third floors of the mall; the last reaches as high as the fourth. From the fountain it will be seen that the mall at this point is five storeys high; the second and third floors contain stores while the fourth and fifth contain offices. These last two floors are only accessible from outside the mall. Overlooking the atrium on the second floor is the food court. This is the only part of the second floor our friends can reach at the present moment, the hallways leading beyond being sectioned off. On the third floor were more stores; among others, the Allegri's whose grand opening brought Aang and his friends to Cloverdale Mall in the first place. Apart from a pair of escalators between the first and second floor, there were two elevators and a spiral staircase that spanned the lower three floors, all of these being accessible from where our friends are. The escalators were off, but the elevators were operational. Needless to say, all of the shops were individually locked. Four pairs of washrooms are to be found in this section: two on the bottom floor, one at the food court, and one on the third floor.

To return to our friends, they were sitting around the central fountain discussing their situation.

"Well, we've established that the section we're stuck in doesn't lead to an exit," Katara said. "Any suggestions?"

"We should check whether there's any windows," Aang said.

"I didn't notice any," Zuko said. "Anyone got a cell phone? Mine's in the repair shop."

"I'm too poor for one," Aang pointed out.

"Ours is at home," Sokka said. "We forgot to bring it. How about you, Toph?"

"Don't you know how easy it is to track people's cellphones? I snuck out of the house. I'm not going to just tell my parents where I am."

"Wait, you _snuck_ out?" Aang asked. "I thought you said your dad was okay with it?"

"I said that so you wouldn't try and talk me out of it, you little goody-goody-two-shoes."

"So no one has a cellphone?" asked Zuko.

"Use a pay phone," Katara said flatly.

There is a saying that may apply here: "Easier said than done". The most accessible pay phone was two feet beyond the partition they first encountered—and boasted a nigh-permanent "OUT OF SERVICE" sign. When this was discovered, there was another few minutes of (insert previous list of verbs here). After this, they headed back to the fountain.

"We're stuck in the mall with no access to an exit and no way to contact the outside world. Great," Toph ranted. "Now what?"

"Wait. Wait a minute..." Zuko said.

"What's the matter?" asked Aang.

"Something's fishy about this. That masked man...remember that masked man? What if he had something to do with this?"

"Why is that fishy?" asked Katara.

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."

"We were unlucky and got stuck in a mall for the night. We can't phone home or contact the outside. That's all! I say we go to sleep and wait for the mall to open up tomorrow, then leave. What else can we do?" said Katara.

"Still..." Zuko insisted.

"Okay, let's split up and search for clues," Aang said.

"What?" Sokka asked. "Clues? What clues?"

"I think Zuko suspects foul play," Aang said. "In that case, let's go and search for clues. Once we come up with nothing, we can all get some shut-eye and get out of here first thing tomorrow morning."

"You think I'm making this up?" Zuko demanded.

"No, we think you're paranoid," Toph retorted.

"I'll go that way," Aang said, pointing down one of the halls.

"I'll go upstairs to the food court," Zuko said.

"I'll take Toph to check the washrooms," Sokka said.

"I'll take a look around the third floor," Katara said. "Let's go."

* * *

Aang walked up the corridors one after another. The silence was almost overpowering; the echoes of his footsteps only served to emphasize the mall's emptiness. He found nothing, however. He was preparing to return to the fountain, which was their designated meeting place, when he nearly tripped over something. Bending down, he found that he had stumbled over a bag, and picked it up. It seemed oddly familiar, however, so he decided to take it with him.

Meanwhile, Zuko was poking around the food court. He found nothing, but he did hear quiet footsteps. He spun around but saw no one there. Eventually, he too headed back to the fountain.

On the other hand, Sokka and Toph found something interesting: a knocked-out security guard. Even more interesting: she was in the men's washroom beside the women's washroom they had been hiding in. The guard was breathing (to Sokka's dismay; he had been hoping to put his first aid training to the test) and did not appear to be injured or bruised. She had been stuffed in the innermost stall of the washroom. They picked her up and brought her out to the fountain.

* * *

"I suspect that if this one is knocked out," Zuko was saying, "others would have been, too. That's probably why there are no security guards around here. I told you there was something fishy going on!"

"Will she be alright?" Toph asked.

"I'm betting it was chloroform or something like that," Sokka said. "There seems to be no concussion, and she won't wake up. Let's leave her here for now; there's nothing we can do for her."

"Alright, then. Oh yeah, Aang. What's that you got there?" Zuko asked.

"This? I found this bag in one of the halls. It looked familiar, so I took it," Aang replied.

"Oh! Maybe there's something inside that can help us!" Sokka exclaimed as he reached for the bag. He emptied it onto the floor; there wasn't much in it. He sighed heavily, but Aang picked up a thin book that had fallen onto the floor.

"I remember this..." Aang murmured. "I don't know why, but I remember this book..."

"_Catholicism in Joseon Korea during the reign of King Jeongjo,_" Zuko read, peering over Aang's shoulder. "Why would you remember something like that? Are you into Korean history or something?"

"No," Aang said, "but it's familiar somehow. And this one too," he said, picking up a similar book.

"_Leitmotifs in _Avatar: The Last Airbender," Sokka read. "_Avatar: The Last Airbender_? You mean that kiddie show from Nickelodeon?"

"Yeah," Aang mused, flipping through the book. " 'The present author feels that the Track Team could have benefitted from a study of Smetana's treatment of the Vyšehrad theme from _Má Vlast_. This theme is almost identical to the Avatar leitmotif, the only difference being in the note values.' "

Toph blinked. "You know what I just heard? Blah blah musical mumbo-jumbo blah blah something about Hindus."

"Well, come to think of it..." Aang continued to himself, "...Smetana does make more varied use of that theme...I wonder if that change in note value has anything to do with it..."

"Aang!" Zuko snapped. "Now is not the time to be performing a comparative musical analysis of children's television shows! We have a problem here!"

"It's not just for children!" Aang retorted.

"Aang—first of all, bad comeback," Sokka said. "And more importantly, where's my sister?"

"Oh no! Katara!"

"Didn't she say she'd take a look around the third floor?" Toph asked. "Let's go there and take a look."

Everyone got up at once. "Let's go!" Sokka shouted. They were about to rush off when Zuko suddenly stopped them.

"Look over there. What's that?" he asked. He reached over and picked up the slip of paper he had indicated. "Look at this, Sokka. You were sitting on it." He read out loud:

_I have the girl. If you want her back, send Aang Tenzin to the men's washroom next to the food court. If he does not come alone the girl will not live._

It was signed "A Flautist".

* * *

Yeah, my lame attempt at a cliffhanger. I don't know about this fic, to be honest; it isn't my best writing. I'm not good with mysteries and stuff, but the premise seemed intriguing. The way they Gaang got stuck in the mall may seem contrived, but I didn't think they would be the type to sneak into places after dark. For future reference, by the way, I'm not Korean (I'm Chinese). That reference to King Jeongjo was completely random. All musical facts are true—I may not be a flautist, but I've accompanied them!

For future reference, the contest rules were as follows:

This month's is something easy and fun. The Gaang gets stuck in a mall for one whole night. It's your choice whether the stores are open or closed or if there's anyone else there. But there's a twist, this isn't just a simple fun overnight trip. I want mystery! Danger! Maybe even a murder? It's all up to you :D

**The rules are:**

No sex scenes.  
One shot or multichaptered  
AU  
Someone must say this sentence: "Okay, lets split up and search for clues."  
IT MUST HAVE MYSTERY. MUST.

Wish me luck!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What Kind of Chapter Begins with a Flashback?

_Begin flashback._

Ten children, all approximately the same age, sat with various guests on the folding chairs within a certain church. All ten children were holding shining metal flutes in their hands. It was evident from most of their faces that they were nervous. Where were they? A music festival.

On the syllabus of the Kiwanis Music Festival under the heading "Section 55: Woodwind Solos" may be found these simple words:

**Class 55-12 - Flute Solo - Age 15 & Under**

Fee: 38.00

Own choice. Time limit 6 mins.

This was the competition alluded to earlier by Katara, in which Aang got first place.

The children were waiting to begin. The adjudicator had not yet arrived, being delayed in the adjudication of an earlier class. To Aang's right sat his piano accompanist and good friend, Kuzon. To his left was the eventual second-place winner, a girl who had placed her flute beside her and was reading. Aang was amazed that she could possibly be so calm, and out of curiosity looked at the cover of the book she was reading.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aang said. "Good book?"

"Yeah, very interesting."

"It _is_ a rather interesting topic," Aang noted. "Are you—"

"No, I'm not Korean." She had been on the last page of the book, and was presently reading through the last short paragraph. At length she shut the book and placed it in her bag, then retrieved another one. When Aang glimpsed the title, his eyebrows immediately rose.

"That's a strange thing to analyze," Aang said. "Do you like the show?"

"It's better than SpongeBob," the girl replied. "To my taste the usage of leitmotifs is a bit simplistic, but it adds to the flavour."

Aang nodded sagely. "I agree."

"One of the competitors here today has the same name as the main character of that show. Did you notice?"

"Yeah. Me."

"You're Aang?"

"I am. No, I don't have an arrow tattooed on my head. To be honest, that book looks really interesting. Do you mind if I took a look at it?"

"Be my guest."

Aang took the book, opened to a random page, read a paragraph, returned the book and began musing to himself. "...the Vyšehrad theme? How did that go again?"

_End flashback._

"I remember now..." Aang muttered. "What do you want from me?"

"I want—"

* * *

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let us first relate what happened to Sokka, Toph and Zuko in his absence. After Aang had left, they fell into a debate. They were worried that something would happen to Aang and regretted allowing him to go alone on the one hand; on the other, they were afraid of the threat "A Flautist" wrote in his note. In the end they decided that they would sneak up to the washroom and listen in, rushing in if anything went wrong.

Unfortunately, things went wrong before they even started.

Sokka and Zuko rushed off immediately, leaving Toph behind for a second. Sokka spun around and called to her, startling her and causing her to stumble forward. At the same time, a muted gunshot was heard. Where Toph had been standing a second before, a bullet was lodged in the floor. They screamed.

"What's going on?!" Toph screeched as the others ran to her.

"We have to run. Come on!" Sokka yelled, grabbing hold of her hand and running. More shots followed.

"Look at that!" Zuko cried, pointing at the glass ceiling before Sokka hastily dragged him away.

"We've got no time for this! People are shooting at us! We have to get out of here!"

"It must have been how they got in," Zuko said between breaths. "That hole in the glass. They're on the fifth floor. We have to find a place to—"

It was at this time that a group of men, clad in black, emerged from the shadows to capture Zuko. He disappeared before anyone noticed. Shortly after, a shot hit the floor between Sokka and Toph, causing them to turn in opposite directions. While Toph managed to slip into a conveniently-placed unlocked clothing store, Sokka returned to the fountain again. The fact that no gunshots followed convinced him that the gunmen were after Toph. Sokka sat down wearily next to the fountain, but suddenly a masked man dropped down in front of him.

"Who are you?" Sokka shouted in desperation, pushing himself against the walls of the fountain.

"Take a wild guess, son of Hakoda," the man hissed menacingly.

"What? How do you know my father's name? Who are you?"

The man moved closer, flicking open a pocketknife with one hand. "Don't you know who I am?"

"You've got a mask on! How am I supposed to recognize you if I can't see your face?"

The man ripped the mask off. "Now do you know who I am?" he shouted.

Sokka's eyes grew wide. "You—you're Obai Chan!"

"That's right, Sokka. And why am I here?"

"Revenge!"

"That's exactly right! Revenge! Your father killed my father, the great Admiral Chan! And now, he'll pay. He may be a great warrior, but I've got his weak spot. I've got you, Sokka."

"My father did no wrong. There was a war! When two armies fight, they're supposed to kill each other! That's how it works! My father and yours happened to be on opposite sides. Your father was killed. Why are you doing this?"

"There was a war, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that your father killed mine! I will have revenge!"

"Were you the one, then, that got us stuck in the mall?" Sokka whispered.

"No. I've been tracking you, though. How lucky for me that you got locked in here. I simply followed those assassins in."

"Assassins?"

"Yes. They've been tracking a friend of yours, I hear. They'll get her soon; but I've already got you."

"Now that you've got me, what exactly are you going to do?"

"Why, kill you, of course. For Hakoda, it'll be worse than death."

Sokka was silent for a moment.

"You can die now," Obai Chan snarled, raising his knife.

"Revenge?" Sokka said suddenly. "You know, revenge is so overrated. Do you really think you'll feel better after you kill me?"

"Shut up!"

"No one knows better than me what happens to someone who kills. They rot inside. Killing someone is the worst thing to have on your conscience, let me tell you. My father is weighed down by it every day. Your father probably was, too. Obai, listen to me. Would your father want you to carry that burden for the rest of your life? Would he want a stain on you that will never wash clean?"

"Shut up! You're just afraid to die. Hakoda killed my father! And now, you will suffer for it! Prepare to die!" He lifted his knife, but an unexpected shout stopped him.

"And how is that fair?"

* * *

Here we leave Sokka and return to Aang, who, as will be remembered, was headed towards the food court's bathroom. At length he arrived, and found there a masked man—the same masked man, in fact, who Zuko had seen.

"Where's Katara?" he demanded.

"Don't worry about her, she's completely safe," the man answered in a strange voice. "I hope you've come alone. Because if you're not, the girl's dead."

Aang shuddered. "I'm alone. Who are you and what do you want from me?"

The man took off his mask, revealing that he was not, in fact, a man. She was a girl of about fourteen. Aang's eyes widened. "Do you remember me?" she asked.

"No..."

"Really? I even left my bag for you to find. You don't remember me at all?"

"Your bag...?"

"Yes. My bag. I even left those books in there. You looked at one of them. Do you remember?"

He was silent for a moment. "I remember now..." Aang muttered. "What do you want from me?"

"I want..." She lapsed into silence before suddenly shrieking, "I deserved first place in that competition! I was better!"

"What?" he whispered.

"How did you get first place in that competition when my playing was so much better than yours? I don't understand! We both played the same Quantz sonata. You messed up seventeen times! I counted!"

"You...counted?" Aang asked dubiously.

"Yes! I counted! Seventeen times! I only messed up eight times! And I played with more expression! More feeling! It was obvious I knew the piece better than you did, yet you were the one who got first place! I don't understand this! I was better than you! I was better than you!!"

"...So?" Aang's tone was calm, almost infuriatingly so.

"I challenge you to a flute duel! If you win, I'll let the girl go. If I win, I'll...cut off your fingers! And if you resist, I'll cut the girl up so bad you won't recognize her!"

"You want...a flute duel?"

"Yes!"

"Who's the judge, then?"

"Well!...well...we'll have the girl judge." Her voice calmed down; she was no longer shrieking.

Aang's honesty was refreshing. "She's biased; and I didn't bring a flute."

"I know. Don't you think I'll have thought of that? We'll blindfold her, play one at a time and have her pick whether the first or second performance was better. As for the flute, use mine. Got it?"

He sighed deeply. "Let's get this over with."

The girl went into the leftmost toilet stall, dragged a gagged and bound Katara out, rudely threw her down in the middle of the washroom floor, produced a strip of cloth and blindfolded her.

"Listen, girl. We're going to have a little flute competition," she barked. "You listen and tell us whether the first or second piece was better. If you don't judge honestly, you're going to get it!" She allowed the cold steel of the knife she was holding rest on Katara's throat for a moment. Aang cringed.

"Katara...don't worry..." Aang murmured.

"Let's begin," the girl said, raising her flute to her lips.

She played well, it must be admitted. For five minutes she played, improvising a melody which was at times florid and at others calm and, for a fourteen-year-old, hauntingly beautiful. Katara had overheard the flautist's conditions for her release and therefore knew that it was to her advantage to choose Aang as the winner, but she could not decide whether this performance was his or her captor's. In the end she concluded that the most prudent course of action was to choose the better performance, and hope that Aang would be superior. To this end, she had to admit: this first piece was pretty darned good.

The performance ended, and Aang quietly took the flute. After taking a second to wipe down the mouthpiece, he began to play. After the first few bars, his opponent's eyes widened in quiet shock. What was he doing? Aang may be at most times quiet and humble, but he could not resist this jab at the person who kidnapped Katara. He was repeating her improvisation, note for note. He imbued each tone with more beauty, more expression, more pathos. To us it is clear why Aang got first place in that competition. He was simply better.

Needless to say, Katara chose the second performance as the better one. Her captor was stunned. She simply stood silently as Aang set down the flute and undid Katara's bonds. She did not move as the two quietly walked out of the washroom.

Once they reached the staircase leading down to the first floor, they hugged each other tightly before going downstairs. Relief showed on their faces; they were hopeful that nothing else would happen. When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, though, they knew there was trouble.

"Shut up! You're just afraid to die. Hakoda killed my father! And now, you will suffer for it! Prepare to die!"

They looked at each other and realized that Sokka was in trouble. They had to act fast.

"And how is that fair?" shouted Aang.

"What? Who are you?" Obai demanded, looking up past the fountain towards the source of the unexpected sound.

"Let my friend go!"

"Aang? Aang!" Sokka shouted, pushing Obai off and getting up.

With a great yell, Aang jumped onto Obai and forcibly banged his forehead onto the cold, hard floor, knocking him out. Panting, Aang turned to Sokka. "You alright?"

"Yeah. What happened to you? Did you find Katara?"

"He did," said Katara, running over. "Are you alright, Sokka? Who was that man?"

"Obai Chan," he replied with a hint of bitterness. Katara's expression darkened.

"Him," she said simply.

"Thankfully, Aang got here in time. He wanted to kill me as revenge for his father's death."

"Revenge?" Aang asked.

"Our dad used to be in the army. During a raid, he killed Obai Chan's father. Obai managed to find out it was our father and swore revenge. He's been stalking us," Katara explained.

"...Wow."

"Anyways," Sokka said hurriedly, "we've got to move. Toph's in trouble and I think someone kidnapped Zuko."

"What?" Katara exclaimed.

"There's a bunch of assassins in the mall, and they're after Toph. They've been shooting at us. We have to make sure Toph's okay."

Aang looked at Katara with a pained expression on his face. "This is crazy."

Suddenly, a shot was fired at them. Everyone screamed and ran: Katara and Sokka in one direction, Aang in another. For now we shall set aside Katara and Sokka's flight in favour of Aang's. He ran and ran, slightly disturbed by the presence of assassins. He could hear shots being fired at him, and decided to take cover in one of the washrooms. If he was going to get a bullet lodged in him, he was at least going to see the gun first. Before he could do so, however, a hand grabbed him and dragged him into a dark room.

"Be quiet. It's me, Toph."

"Toph?" Aang whispered. "Where are we?"

"Some clothing store."

"How did you find me?"

"I know your voice. Few guys have a girlier scream." Aang gave her a withering look, but she didn't notice. "You've met my friends, I see."

"With friends like that, who needs enemies?"

"Hah. Did you find Katara?"

"Yes. She's with Sokka now, I think. We got split up when we were shot at. Zuko's gone missing though, apparently."

"Oh, great. Zuko too. Listen, I think I found a way out. We need to find the others."

"You did?"

"I think I did. I could barely see it, but when I got to the back of the store I saw a reddish glow on the ceiling. I think it's an exit sign. Go and see if I'm right."

Aang lifted his head and confirmed that there was, in fact, an exit sign. And where there's an exit sign, there's an exit.

"Should we get out of here and call for help, or should we go and find the others?" Toph asked.

"We need to go and look for them. We're not leaving them behind. Are you coming?"

"Of course I am."

"Stay close to me. Let's go." They headed back into the corridor.

* * *

Originally this was to be the last chapter. It got a little long, though, so I decided to break it up. Three's the magic number!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: In which Everything is Resolved in an Disagreeably Agreeable Way,  
or,  
What Kind of Ending is This??

In the previous chapter we have related what happened to Aang after he was split up from Katara and Sokka, setting aside the brother and sister for a moment. We now set Aang aside in turn and narrate what happened to Sokka and Katara.

After that shot was fired, Sokka and Katara ran into another corridor opposite to the one Aang had run into. No shots followed them; it will be remembered that Aang was the one being shot at. They eventually slowed down, and had just stopped to take a breather when Katara noticed something about the door next to them. It was presumably a storage closet for the maintenance staff (which, it may be noted, worked early in the morning rather than late at night), and it was slightly open. For a second they hesitated, deciding whether it was worth their while to open it. A moment passed; Sokka opened the door. It was worth their while, alright: it was a stairwell to the parking garage.

They descended; during their descent they were conscious of strange noises coming from below. As they neared the landing these noises resolved into...talking?

"Yeah, my dad hates me."

"I can tell. Sucks to have to carry that scar around. Can't you do surgery for it or something?"

"I don't know. I haven't tried. It's not bad enough for me to go to surgery, I guess."

Katara and Sokka looked at each other. Compared to the past hour or two, the scene in front of them seemed incongruous. They saw Zuko and three other men, chatting it up as if they had been friends for life. One could almost imagine them holding bottles of beer.

"Zuko?" Katara asked incredulously.

"Hey, Sokka and Katara! Come over here!" Zuko exclaimed. "These are my friends Sokka and Katara. They're siblings. Sokka and Katara, meet Moku, Roku and Goku."

"Okay, Zuko, what's going on here?" Sokka asked, completely confused.

"Let me explain," the one named Moku said. "You know Ozai, CEO of Oz-Mart? Well, we were hired to kidnap his daughter Azula. When we arranged a stakeout at their estate, we saw a car leave. We decided to follow it, and ended up here at Cloverdale. Where else would a girl like her go? We thought we had her. Since the mall's so big, we only watched the exits. When she never came out, we concluded that they were locked in—it happens—and snuck in ourselves. Then we got this guy so we could use him to get Azula. Then he told us we got the wrong guy and proves it, too. Turns out he's Azula's brother, and that Azula's at her ballet lesson."

"Wait. Zuko, let me get this straight. You're sitting here, chatting with strange men who are trying to kidnap your sister?" Sokka asked.

"Yup."

"Sweet."

"What about those assassins up there?" Katara asked. "The ones who are trying to kill Toph?"

"Wow," Goku commented. "Looks like plenty of people are after you tonight."

"Yeah, tell me about it! I got kidnapped too!"

"Is there a way out of the mall from here?" asked Sokka.

"Yes, there is," Roku said. "Right that way." He pointed across the garage.

"We need to go upstairs and find Aang and Toph. Then we can get out of here," Katara said. "Sokka, Zuko. Follow me."

* * *

"Where could they possibly be? We've been looking forever!" Toph exclaimed.

"It's a big mall, Toph," Aang said. "Calm down and let's keep looking. They've got to be somewhere around here."

At this point, the shooting began again.

"They've found us! Let's go!" Aang yelled. They began running, but abruptly Toph stopped. "What's the matter, Toph?"

"I just ran into a wall..." she groaned.

"Wha—woah! It's not a wall! You ran into a door!"

It was indeed, as the reader will conjecture, the door which led down into the garage. At this point Sokka came running out of it, smashing into Aang.

"Ahh! What the—Aang! You're okay!" Sokka cried.

"Sokka!" Toph exclaimed. "It's you! Are you okay? Did you find the others? We found a way out! Come on!"

"So did we," Sokka replied. At this point Katara and Zuko came running onto the scene.

"Are you guys alright?" Katara asked anxiously. At this point more shots were fired; one shot arrived dangerously close to Zuko's foot.

In a fit of anger, Zuko unreasonably shouted, "Watch it over there! You almost shot me!"

Surprisingly, there was a reply. "Sorry!"

Here the Latin phrase, _non sequitur_, would apply beautifully. _Non sequituur_ is a misspelling; the form of the verb is that of the third person present passive indicative, requiring _–tur­_ rather than the non-existent _–tuur_. Though passive in form, the verb is active; the translation is "It does not follow" rather than "It is not followed". It is a deponent verb of the third declension; its first principal part is _sequor_. _Cur non sequitur_—why does it not follow? Why should an assassin who barely misses his target apologize for the fact? In fact, a better question may be asked. These assassins, it will be remembered, were skilled enough to cut a hole in the glass roof of the mall. Why should they continually miss their target? Why did they not land a single hit?

The answer lies in the events that ensue. Let us abandon this digression and return to the plot.

Needless to say, everyone looked up in shock.

"Did you say, 'sorry'?" Aang called.

A quiet "Oh, shit" was heard down the hall.

"What's going on here?" Sokka asked.

"Alright, we give!" the "assassin" shouted.

"Eh?" Zuko asked, scratching his head in confusion. The "assassins"—there were two of them—jogged over.

"I hope we didn't hurt any of you," one of them said.

"No," Toph said, "we're completely fine. Except for me running into this stupid door."

"I'm glad, Ms. Beifong," the other replied.

"Huh?" Aang asked.

"You—you're Mu Duk!" Toph stammered. "That means the other must be..."

"Yi San, at your service." The two gunmen bowed.

"Let me guess," Toph said. "Dad sent you two to chase after me, and you decided to scare us with a little shooting."

"That's exactly right, Ms. Beifong," the one named Mu Duk said.

"You scared us!" Katara shouted, indignant.

"Yeah!" Sokka agreed.

Moku emerged from the doorway. "Hey, guys! Guess what? We got beer!"

"Beer? Where?" Mu Duk asked eagerly.

"Settle down, Ducky," Yi San said. "Be careful with this guy. He gets higher on beer than most people do with 'shrooms."

They all headed downstairs, despite Aang and Katara's aversion to the alcoholic drink. They settled down in a large circle, passing beers around.

"Tell me something, Zuko," Roku said.

"What is it?"

"Why Oz-Mart? Why not Ozai Mart?"

"Well, you know that show, _Avatar: The Last Airbender_? You know, with the bald guy flying around on that huge bison-thing and the girl with the hair loopies and that boomerang guy? The big bad guy in that show was named Ozai, so my dad thought it would be bad publicity to have a store named 'Ozai Mart'. How many people are going to walk into a store named after the bloodthirsty main antagonist of a popular TV show? Besides, 'Oz-Mart' sounds catchier."

"Ahh."

"Speaking of _Avatar_," Sokka noted, "does anyone here notice the amazing coincidence that our names are all in that show? The main characters even correspond exactly to our little group of friends. Does anyone not find that totally weird?"

"...No," Katara said simply. They continued drinking their beer, until...

"I DIFFERENTIATE YOU! I AM D-BY-DX! FEAR ME, LOWLY FUNCTIONS! HAHAHA! I DIFFERENTIATE YOU! I DIFFERENTIATE YOU!"

"Alright, what now?" asked Toph.

"I DIFFERENTIATE YOU!" It was the flautist who had kidnapped Katara. She had gone completely insane, and now believed she was the differentiation operator.

"You...differentiate us?" Aang asked, more confused than surprised.

"HAHAHA! I SHALL DIFFERENTIATE YOU 'TILL YOU'RE ZERO!!" She pointed to each person in turn, shouting "I DIFFERENTIATE YOU!"

No one said anything except Zuko. When she pointed at him and shouted the phrase, he had a reply.

"Try it. I'm e to the x."

She was momentarily stunned. "NOOO!!" she wailed, falling to her knees and sobbing.

"And don't ever bother me with calculus again!" Zuko shouted.

"What just happened?" Katara asked.

"I don't know..." Aang said.

"That was random," Toph commented.

The author is glad to report that this was the last strange occurrence of the night. By midnight, all of them were safely in their homes. Sokka and Katara walked right into their house; their father was on a business trip and had no idea what happened. Zuko was given a stern talking-to by his father, but ultimately wasn't punished. Toph was grounded; her parents had literally been worried sick. As for Aang...

"I got your note, Aang. Did you enjoy your trip?" his adoptive father Gyatso asked. "You were out a little late."

"I'm never going to that Allegri's again," Aang huffed.

The story of Aang and his friends' stay at the police station later that night is another story for another time.

劇終  
THE END.

* * *

Not the best ending, to be sure, but I ran out of notes after Chapter 2. Besides, the deadline's tomorrow, and I didn't want to be late!


End file.
